Who? Hey. We’re suspense writers. So read her interview and see how
soon you can guess!

Title of your autobiography?

NEW RED: You Think I’m Kidding…. But I’m Not. (I asked my
husband what it should be and, according to him, I say this a lot. And
now—since I told him I’m writing this for the Jungle Reds—he’s launched into a
rendition of “Jungle Boogie.” Oh my.

Book you wish you had written?

NEW RED: I Capture the Castle, by Dodee Smith. Or maybe I just want to live
there? It’s about an eccentric family that lives in a dilapidated castle in
England in the 1930s. Would love to have artist’s model Topaz dye all my
clothes green, be best friends with daughters Cassandra and Rose Montmain, swim
in the moat and flirt the Cotton boys, and, of course, write in a castle
turret.

Movie you would see again and again?

NEW RED: Amélie, directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet and starring Audrey Tatou. The film
is quirky and funny and sad and gorgeous and, most of all, gentle with humans and
our many foibles. And the soundtrack is wonderful as well.

Exotic drinks--yes? No?

NEW RED: Yes! But I don’t think cocktails necessarily need to be exotic to be
good. Our favorite cocktail bar is Clover Club in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn —
it feels like a 1930s lounge, with a stamped tin ceiling, leather furniture and
Billie Holiday songs playing. The cocktails are amazing, both classic and newly
created. And owner/doyenne Julie Reiner is from Hawaii, so there are some
authentic Tiki drinks on the menu as well.

When in history would you choose to visit? (Reds, this question includes a BIG HINT...)

INEW RED: know everyone would think the 1940s, given my novels, but I’d
really love to visit New York City in the 50s and 60s —see New York City
Ballet; go to the Russian Tea Room and maybe catch sight of George Balanchine,
Igor Stravinsky and Suzanne Farrell; and, of course, wear adorable hats and
gloves

Eeelia or Ellia? (HUGE CLUE!)It’s Eeelia. And it’s not even a real name — apparently it was made
up by some immigration official at Ellis Island who couldn’t figure out how to
write the family’s actual last name, which was Egliotti.

HANK: Okay, now you know! Welcome to Susan Elia MacNeal!

What you said when you hit the New York Times bestseller list:

SUSAN: “Holy cats!” (Except it might not exactly have been
“cats”…)

What are you working on now?

SUSAN: Working on the copyedits for The Prime Minister’s Secret Agent (Maggie
Hope #4)and delighted to report it’s scheduled to be released in June
2014. Can’t say much (because my editor will kill me) but it takes
place in Scotland, London, and Washington D.C. in the fall of ’41, leading up
to the attack on Pearl Harbor.

I’m under contract now for Maggie Hope books #5 and #6, so I’m also
researching and outlining #5, The First Lady’s Confidante. I’m happy to
be able finally to write African-American characters. My mother-in-law just
moved in with us (she prefers Black to African-American though, and really
doesn’t mind Negro at all) and told me if I have any questions, I should “have
my people call her people.” (She lived in New York City during World War II and
remembers the blackout, knitting socks for soldiers, and being terrified a
German U-boat would attack from the harbor.)

Pizza or chocolate?

SUSAN: Chocolate. Always chocolate.

Kids? Pets? Husband? Garden?

SUSAN: One kid — Matthew Wallace MacNeal, age eight going on forty-two. This
year, he’s into reading Harry Potter, watching Monty Python, fencing, and
basketball. (For anyone who read the ballet piece, he’s given up ballet, but
because he wanted to move on and try other things, not because of social
pressures.)

Two cats. One is Xander, a grey tuxedo who’s basically a tiny,
grumpy Ed Asner in a fur suit. The other is tabby kitten Lola, who’s a lot like
Goldie Hawn from her Laugh In days.

Husband, yes — Noel MacNeal and we’re just about to celebrate our
fourteenth wedding anniversary! He’s a puppeteer who’s worked with Jim Henson
and Frank Oz, and works on Sesame Street and with the Muppets. He starred in
the shows Eureeka’s Castle, Bear in the Big Blue House, Oobi, and Between
the Lions.

Mother-in-law Edna MacNeal also currently lives with us. She calls
her walker “Precious,” her iPhone “son of Precious,” and her Kindle “Grandson
of Precious.” Every day at 6 p.m. we watch Match Game (the one from the
70s with Richard Dawson—I DVR it on the Game Show Network).

No garden, alas — we live in a condo. Do window boxes count? I have
portulacas (aka moss roses) in ours, because they are 1) bright and cheerful
and 2) impossible to kill.

Do you watch TV? What?

SUSAN: I’m a huge fan of Game of Thrones. Also, Breaking Bad
(what an ending!), Girls,Mad Men,Orange is the New Black,
Scandal, and Homeland. And everything by Joss Whedon. As a family,
we really love Once Upon a Time.

Can you sing?

SUSAN: You know, I studied classical music when I was younger and sang
soprano in a first-rate choir and did a lot of Schubert, Mozart, and Vivaldi
solo pieces as well. Lots of musical theater in both high school and college,
too —classics like Cole Porter and Rogers and Hammerstein, and works by
contemporary composers such as Stephen Sondheim. (These days though, it’s
mostly jazz standards in the shower….)

Best concert you've ever seen?

SUSAN: One summer during college, a friend of mine and I snuck into
Artpark, which is an amazing concert hall right on the Niagara River gorge in
Lewiston, New York. It has outdoor seating, so we went into the back, sat on
the grass and looked up at the stars as legendary opera diva Leontyne Price
sang Gershwin’s “Summertime.” I’ll never forget it.

Secret talent?

SUSAN:Mixing cocktails. I could match martini-making skills with Nick and
Nora Charles anytime.

Two, I had no idea about the singing thing! I just asked because I can’t
sing.

Three—let’s welcome Susan Elia MacNeal (her bio is below!) to
Jungle Red—and one lucky commenter will win one of her fabulous books!

More about Susan!

New York Times-bestselling author Susan Elia MacNeal is the author of the Maggie Hope Mystery series from Bantam/Random House. She is the winner of the Barry Award, and her books have been nominated for the Edgar, Macavity, and Dilys Awards.

The first novel in the series is Mr. Churchill's Secretary. It won the Barry Award and was nominated for the Mystery Writers of America's Edgar Award for Best First Novel and the Mystery Readers International's Macavity Award for Best First Mystery Novel. It was also nominated for the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association's 2013 Dilys Award for "the mystery title of the year that booksellers have most enjoyed hand-selling," Mr. Churchill's Secretary was also declared one of Suspense Magazine's Best Debut of 2012, Deadly Pleasures's Best Paperback Original of 2012, and chosen as one of Target's "Emerging Authors" series.

The sequel, Princess Elizabeth's Spy, was a New York Times bestseller and chosen by Oprah.com as "Mystery of the Week" and one of "7 Compulsively Readable Mysteries (for the Crazy-Smart Reader)," as well as Target's "Emerging Authors" series. It was nominated for the Macavity Award's Sue Feder Historical Memorial Award.

His Majesty's Hope made the New York Times- and USA Today-bestseller lists and was chosen as one of Target's Emerging Author Series.

Book #4, The Prime Minister's Secret Agent, will be published in spring of 2014 and Susan is under contract for books #5 and #6.

Susan graduated cum laude from Wellesley College, with departmental honors in English Literature and credits from cross-registered classes at MIT. She attended the Radcliffe Publishing Course at Harvard University.

Her first job was as an intern at Random House for then-publisher Harold Evans, before moving her way up the editorial ladder at Viking/Penguin and McGraw-Hill, then becoming an associate editor at Dance Magazine.

Her writing has been published in The Wall Street Journal, The Huffington Post, Fodor's, Time Out New York, Time Out London, Publishers Weekly, Dance Magazine, and various publications of New York City Ballet. She's also the author of two non-fiction books and a professional editor.

Susan is married and lives with her husband, Noel MacNeal, a television performer, writer and director, and young son in Park Slope, Brooklyn.

Nothing like fresh blood. Welcome Susan! I have always admired your covers and want to read -- love WWII stories. Maybe I'll win -- although the last time I won a free book here it did not arrive. Julia's ARC I think. Hope I am not in the doghouse.

This series sounds like fun, and it's always exciting to "meet" another new Red! Welcome, Susan, I look forward to reading your posts, and to the signature cocktail you might dream up. Always looking for a new one to try, along with new books to read.

Please do not include me in the pot for the book, as I've won a couple recently. No need to be hoggy! And I'm happy to support good writers like the Reds, although I do appreciate the occasional gifts. :-)

Oh, Susan, I love you already! I was at college in NY in the late '60s and used my part time work money to buy a subscription to the NYC Ballet. Saw Suzanne Farrell (sublime), Edward Vilella (Scottish Symphony!), Melissa Hayden, Arthur Mitchell, Patricia McBride... My first time at the ballet and I had no idea what an extraordinary era it was.

We two have so much in common (loving London, Joss Whedon--the list goes on and on) but I am also an amateur mixologist, so if you want any help with that signature cocktail, just let me know. Toasts to you!

Welcome, welcome, Susan! I'm so happy to have another Red with a kid still underfoot join the group! Also, not gonna lie, I'm very up for the idea of a Reds signature cocktail. Or maybe several seasonal cocktails so we can have tasting parties?

Jack, the ARC didn't arrive? Did you send me your mailing address? I'll have to have a stern talking-to with the Mail Department (that would be the Male Department around here.) I'll have it in the post to you tomorrow. Sorry.

I recently read Susan's first book and liked it a lot. Looking forward to the rest and to reading Susan here. Note: I saw Leontyne Price in my small town high school auditorium as a kid, courtesy of a wonderful organization Community Concerts. It was just before she debuted at the Met (and the rest is history) Like Susan, never forgot it and loved read about Susan's experience

Welcome Susan. I loved all three of your Maggie Hope books and you're telling me I have to wait until June for a new one?! I'm sure you'll enjoy being part of this very special group of writers. And the blog is so much fun.

Oh oh, have I got the contraption for you, for creating the signature JRW cocktail: the Perfect Drink scale! http://www.cnet.com/8301-13553_1-57604391-32/brookstone-perfect-drink-scale-and-app-guide-cocktail-construction/

A friend works at the company that invented it. Apparently, they've been doing ALOT of testing at work. :-)

Hi Susan! I just finished the third book in your series. Hurry up, will ya? Got to know what happens next in her love life!The stories have been engrossing with all the spy stuff. Keep up the good work.

Welcome Susan-It was such a treat to meet you at Bouchercon (Where the Reds were fabulous on stage). I look forward to the future books (Can't keep them on the shelf at my Library and now they're in Large Type too-whoo hoo- another group happy!)Can't wait to get the recipe for the Jungle Red cocktail